620,000 passengers between Catalonia and France during Renfe's first year of solo high-speed service
Company recovered Barcelona-Lyon route on July 13 last year after French SNCF broke ties
Renfe has seen 620,000 passengers during their first year of solo high-speed service between Catalonia and France, which started operations on July 13.
The first destination recovered was Barcelona to Lyon, followed by Madrid to Marseille. At the moment, it was the first time a Spanish train driver had crossed the French-Spanish border in a passenger train.
In the past, Renfe cooperated with its French counterpart, SNCF, but the latter company decided to break ties and launched its service between Barcelona and Paris alone. Both companies used to service several destinations, including Lyon, Paris, and Marseille.
Overall, there have been 1,300 trains crossing the border and stopping in one of the 15 stations of Renfe's network between both countries. On average, trains had an 82% occupancy.
French stations with passengers were Lyon, Marseille, and Montpellier.
Renfe considers the French market strategic for its attempts to continue expanding the company abroad and plans to connect Barcelona with Paris, a route still pending authorization by French market regulators, as well as offer domestic routes.